


The Long Thrill

by matchsticks_p (matchsticks)



Series: Small Vices [1]
Category: Shadowhunters (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Mob, BAMF Magnus Bane, Dubious Morality, Genre-Typical Violence, M/M, Mafia AU, Mob Wife Magnus Bane, Organized Crime, Protective Alec Lightwood, but committed by some main characters, but he's no damsel in distress, homophobia (brief instance by third party), not against any main characters
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-29
Updated: 2019-12-29
Packaged: 2021-02-27 05:16:22
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,026
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22021669
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/matchsticks/pseuds/matchsticks_p
Summary: Alec is a much-feared enforcer for the powerful Lightwood crime family. He has only two redeeming qualities: his loyalty to his family, and his love for his boyfriend. And for those two things, he’ll commit all kinds of evil acts and unspeakable violence without any remorse.
Relationships: Magnus Bane/Alec Lightwood
Series: Small Vices [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1585084
Comments: 16
Kudos: 269





	The Long Thrill

It’s late into the night when Alec finally gets home.

Magnus has left a light on in the foyer for him, and in return for this thoughtfulness Alec makes sure to take off his jacket so he won’t trail any stains through the apartment. He bundles it into a trash bag—no amount of washing is going to save it now, he’s left it for too long and it’s probably technically evidence—and quietly moves through the loft, socked feet soundless across the floor. He pokes his head through the half open door of the bedroom to check on Magnus, who’s sound asleep and doesn’t stir. 

The sight satisfies something in Alec, but despite how much he wants to climb in next to him he knows better than to do so before showering the grime of his work off first. God forbid he dirties Magnus’s satin sheets, he would never hear the end of it. 

He makes quick work of cleaning himself, efficiency fueled by an increasing eagerness to curl around his boyfriend after a long day and night of work. Finally slipping between the sheets, he slings an arm low around Magnus’s waist. Magnus murmurs sleepily and turns over.

“It’s just me, go back to sleep,” Alec says against his hair, and closes his eyes himself.

In the morning he wakes to the smell of pancakes and coffee, wanders out to the kitchen to find Magnus wearing nothing but one of Alec’s t-shirts, oversized on him but not so large that it’s anywhere near enough to make him decent. He’s sliding pancakes onto large white plates with a spatula while humming to a song he only hears in his head.

Unable to resist the temptation, Alec reaches out to squeeze that pert ass peeking out from the bottom of the shirt. Without a pause in his plating, Magnus smacks his hand and tells him to set the table. Alec complies.

The coffee is exactly how he likes it, the pancakes are fluffy and the fruit served alongside is freshly cut and perfectly ripe. When they’re done eating, the kiss Magnus leans over the table to press to Alec’s mouth is sticky sweet with syrup.

Magnus heads to the bathroom and leaves the dishes to Alec, who does them dutifully. By the time Magnus is back out, outfit devastatingly impeccable and eyeliner flawlessly sharp, Alec has his work boots laced up and is ready to go.

“Have a good day, Alexander,” Magnus says, walking with him to the door. “Do please be careful.”

Alec rolls his eyes, bends down to kiss the side of Magnus’s jaw next to his ear and says, “I’m always careful.”

It’s a busy day. Someone on Jace’s crew has been stupid enough to think he can double dip, take money from the Lightwoods while being on their payroll at the same time. It’s sad, really. Sebastian was, by all accounts, a very good spotter and getaway driver. He’s worked several big jobs with Jace, who thought he could trust him. That means Sebastian has not only taken from the Lightwoods, but also personally insulted Jace’s good faith.

Alec meets up with his brother outside of Sebastian’s apartment, thumps him on the back in greeting. They pull on their gloves and push their way inside. 

Izzy had been the one who’d found the discrepancy in their books. Her skill with forensic accounting has an almost surgical precision, and for all that Jace has vouched for this guy’s dependability and his work ethic, his intelligence must be lacking if he thinks he can take what’s theirs without anyone noticing. 

Sebastian looks resigned to his fate as soon as they break through the door, which means at least he’s not dumb enough to think he can get out of this. 

Jace holds him down while Alec pulls out his knife.

Cutting off the first four fingers gets him to confess everything, although it’s more of a formality than anything since Alec has absolute faith in his sister’s ability to sniff out rats. After that, taking the next four fingers is just fair punishment. 

Sebastian thanks them for their leniency when they’re done. He still has two thumbs left and, if the paramedics get here quick enough, maybe some hope of having a couple of the fingers reattached. But more importantly, he still has his _life_. In acknowledgement of his years of quality service to the family, they leave him alive, with the understanding that he will get out of the business and ensure they never see him or even hear about him third-hand ever again. 

Alec dials the beginning of 9-1 on a burner phone for him, drops it on the wet floor next to his ruined mess of a hand so he can poke at the last 1 with a thumb, and walks out to the sound of Sebastian still babbling his fervent thanks. 

They go freshen themselves up at Jace’s, and once Alec has scrubbed every last trace of blood from under his fingernails he notes the time. Magnus should be just about finished with lunch by now, between meetings with vendors and clients. Alec has a few minutes to call him before they both get swallowed up by work again. 

“Hello, darling,” Magnus answers on the first ring.

A warm smile breaks across Alec’s face. “How’s your day going?”

“Splendidly, now that I’m talking to you,” Magnus purrs.

“I missed your voice too.” 

Jace, now changed into clean clothes, steps into the dining room where Alec is sitting and mimes throwing up. Alec, knowing beyond a shadow of a doubt that Jace would put his own life on the line for Magnus if it came down to it because Magnus is Alec’s, mimes punching Jace in the face.

They don't have long to talk because Magnus has an appointment soon. He has his fingers in a lot of pies as the owner of several small businesses, all of them above-board by the letter of the law: a nightclub, a curiosities shop, and a tarot and palm reading consultancy. Each one is untouched by any part of Alec's family business, and Alec makes sure it stays that way. The Lightwood clan thinks that it's smart, so they never have to worry about Magnus getting subpoenaed. Alec just keeps it that way because Magnus likes it like that. 

Magnus says his regretful goodbyes when he really must leave, which is just as well because Alec has more work to do too.

There are a lot of people to rough up, but it's a standard day for Alec. Some need to be convinced to make the right choices, some need a reminder of why the Lightwoods are in charge, some just need some guidance to be brought back to the fold, and some need to be taught their place. 

The last one of the day, that one needs to learn that you can't choose to dive into this life and still pretend you deserve mercy. 

"Please, sir, I have children," he burbles through the blood in his mouth, sobbing openly and raggedly.

Alec stays seated, looking down at where the man cowers on the floor. "You're a bad father for endangering them," he says, flipping the knife in his hand. "That's on you, not me."

He has to change his shirt, afterwards. He hadn't gone overboard or made a huge mess, but he's taking Magnus out for dinner. Alec doesn't personally give a shit about fashion, and Magnus always assures him that he likes anything Alec wears, but Alec gives a lot of shits about making an effort for Magnus. That means at the very least putting on an ironed shirt with buttons and a collar and no bloodstains for a date. 

They meet at the restaurant, an understated but romantic establishment, and when Magnus arrives he looks resplendent. Candlelight bounces off his many rings, his glittery eyeshadow, the shimmering golden thread in his flowy blouse—Alec swallows audibly.

Magnus is not even seated yet when they hear a snicker from behind him, a muttered observation about how anybody could be a cross-dresser these days, along with a few slurs not repeatable in polite company. 

Alec pushes his chair back from the table and stands up calmly. He locates the source of the comments quickly and stalks over, giving the guy and his girlfriend a cold stare. "You wanna run that by me again?"

The smirk slides off the heckler's face at the sound of Alec's voice. "What, I can't have a private conversation? It's a free country."

Alec looms closer, the edge of their table hard against his thigh. "Run that. By me. One more time," he repeats. His shoulders are broad enough to block out the lovely mood lighting, casting a shadow across their faces. The woman clutches her man's arm nervously, eyes flitting back and forth between him and Alec. Alec knows what he looks like even to people not in the business. He's tall, he works hard in the gym, he has thick scars and callouses on his hands and tattoos on his neck, and he holds himself in a way that broadcasts power.

He reaches out and snatches a dinner roll right off the guy's plate, just to watch him flinch away from Alec's abrupt movement. He takes a bite out of it. "Looks like you're done with dinner, why don't you leave a hundred on the table and see yourselves out?" he suggests.

Their plates are still half full, but as they frantically look around for a waiter or someone to assist them, it slowly dawns on them that the staff are deliberately avoiding their section. 

Alec feels a touch at his shoulder and turns to look at Magnus.

"Come sit down dear, I'm positively famished," he says, not even looking at the two who are now hurriedly preparing to leave. He walks away and expects Alec to follow.

Alec tosses the bitten roll in his hand toward the guy's chest, where it bounces off onto the table. "You better be gone by the time I sit back down."

He returns to their table, where Magnus is already seated with his back to the proceedings. Alec walks around to his own side, annoyed that the interruption prevented him from pulling out Magnus's chair for him. 

He watches the offending couple exit the restaurant, and Magnus watches his face. 

"You know I can take care of myself," Magnus begins, shaking out the napkin folded artfully across his plate.

"I know—"

"And you know I don't care what some random nobody thinks about my outfit."

"I do know that." Magnus doesn't give a single solitary shit what strangers think of him, and Alec admires that deeply. He wonders if Magnus knows that if he had looked even a little bit hurt by those remarks for one second, that man would've ended up dead in a mysterious accident within the week.

Magnus reaches across the table to stroke his thumb over Alec's knuckles. "Darling." With his other hand, he taps a shiny red nail against his empty glass, making it ring with a cheery jingle. "Now. I've been here for over ten minutes and you still haven't ordered me any wine."

Alec laughs and beckons a waiter over to remedy this unacceptable issue.

After dinner, Magnus convinces Alec to come with him to his club. He has a few things he'd like to check up on in person, but really it's an excuse to make Alec go dancing. 

Alec finds the drunken crowds exhausting, and Magnus has teased him more times than he can count about his natural lack of rhythm, but he admits that he can occasionally see the appeal in it. There's no other situation where it's socially acceptable to grind all over his boyfriend in public, and the thrill of staking his claim for hundreds of people to see is sometimes worth putting up with everything else he hates about going out.

Izzy loves all the parts he hates, of course. She's loved going to Pandemonium since before Alec and Magnus even met, and it doesn't surprise Alec that she joins them tonight. 

They get drinks together and sit in Magnus's VIP booth for a bit, catching up, but before long she's out by the bar with a coterie of gentleman admirers surrounding her. Alec is a nice enough big brother to not spoil her fun.

He follows her lead and makes his own fun instead, letting Magnus pull him out of the booth into the vicinity of the dance floor. Magnus makes sure they stay on the outskirts of it, a spot where Alec can keep an eye on Izzy and not get jostled by too many intoxicated partiers. They sway to the heavy beat of the music, hips bumping against each other and hands on each other's waists. Magnus slips one deft hand under Alec's shirt, and the shock of his cool palm against the skin of Alec's lower back makes him gasp. They're pressed so close together that it takes barely a shift at all for Magnus to lick into his open mouth. Alec growls his appreciation, sliding his hands up to Magnus's neck, cupping the back of his head, tilting him with one hand fisted in his hair so that he can deepen their kisses properly. Magnus must let out some kind of moan, but the music is too loud for Alec to hear it, which is a shame. All he has to go by is the vibration of Magnus's lips against his. Magnus pushes his thigh between Alec's legs in time to the pulse of the beat, his nails digging into Alec's back under his shirt, and it takes every ounce of Alec's self restraint to keep himself from throwing him onto the bar top.

Eventually, the music drops to a lull, giving the revelers time to recalibrate and find new dance partners if they want to. Magnus pulls back, away from Alec's mouth but not so far that their hands leave each others' bodies. It's enough to stop them from losing themselves. Alec feels like he's resurfacing from a long, deep dive. He has to look around the club to reorient himself, like he's forgotten where he is.

His roaming eyes catch on a dark corner of the club, secluded near the hallway that led to the restrooms in the back. There's a man he vaguely recognizes, and he's shaking hands with a woman in that telltale way that means he's passing something to her. 

_Are you fucking kidding me _, Alec thinks. He's dealt with a lot of remarkably stupid people today. He thought his work was over for the night, but maybe not.__

__He takes Magnus by the backs of the elbows and dances them over to Izzy._ _

__"Magnus!" Izzy beams, welcoming him with literal open arms._ _

__Magnus is happy enough to leave Alec's embrace to accept a bright orange cocktail from her and dance with her, holding onto his drink with one hand and graceful enough to not spill a drop._ _

__Alec indulges in one fond moment to watch them; it warms his heart more than he would ever admit that his sister and Magnus get on so well. "Stay with Izzy for a bit? I have something I need to take care of real quick," he says to Magnus, but he's looking at Izzy._ _

__She makes eye contact with him and nods, winding an arm around Magnus's shoulder._ _

__Alec keeps it quick. He takes long strides across the club, seas of people parting for him on instinct. He grabs the man he saw with a vice grip around the wrist, twisting his arm up behind him and marching him out of a side entrance into the alley behind Magnus's building. The building that everyone is supposed to know is off limits for all organized criminal activity, including selling for a known gang._ _

__The man grunts in pain when Alec pushes him face-first into the wall. He turns his head to avoid getting his nose ground into the brick, and finally gets a good look at Alec. His expression fills with recognition and fear at the exact same time._ _

__"You should know better than this," Alec tells him._ _

__He doesn't spend too long teaching him a lesson. After all, he has something he'd really like to get back to waiting for him inside._ _

__The sudden increase in noise and sweaty bodies is a shock to the system when Alec re-enters, after spending a period in the crisp outdoor air hearing nothing but the sound of blows landing on soft flesh and muffled cries of hurt._ _

__Once his eyes adjust to the dark, he finds Izzy and Magnus back in the booth, gossiping about something. She giggles, then schools her countenance into impassiveness when she sees him, so the 'something' was probably him._ _

__"Alright, I have a commitment in the morning so I shouldn't stay out too late," Izzy excuses herself, winking at Magnus. "You boys behave."_ _

__"Please, Isabelle, I would never."_ _

__She laughs and slides out of the booth, pausing to bump Alec's shoulder with hers as he makes his way into her vacated spot._ _

__With Izzy gone, Magnus turns his full attention onto him. Just like the first time he ever did so, like every time he has since and every time he ever will, it feels like a burning torch banishing the darkness, the heat of the springtime sun melting away winter's cold grip on the world. It makes Alec feel bright and warm and alive. He can't help but lean in to kiss him._ _

__Magnus pauses before he gets there. "Is that blood on your sleeve?" he asks._ _

__Alec glances at the small rusty splotch on his cuff. "No," he tells him._ _

__Magnus is probably the smartest person Alec knows. His face gives nothing away as he looks at Alec appraisingly, but then again Alec doesn't need it to. He already knows what Magnus is going to do next._ _

__"Okay," Magnus says simply. He closes the rest of the distance between them and grants Alec his kiss._ _

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you so much for reading If you enjoyed this, you may enjoy [the moodboard/aesthetic I made for this fic posted on my tumblr](https://riseagainphoenix.tumblr.com/post/189943126037/the-long-thrill-3026-words-on-ao3-alec-is-a)! (Please do feel free to reblog it if it strikes your fancy, I'd appreciate it greatly.)
> 
> There is a long prequel set in the universe of this fic, about how Magnus and Alec got together. The first chapter of it is up and available here: [Yesterday Will Make You Cry](https://archiveofourown.org/works/22021954/chapters/52553983)
> 
> Deepest thanks to [Adi_Rotynd](/users/adi_rotynd/) for cheerleading and looking up stuff and being much too encouraging. This would never have been written or posted if it weren't for her.


End file.
